News & Announcements

Earlier Diverse Care Equals Better Outcomes: Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Photo of giant play blocks with the letters CHLA on them, and a block with a butterfly, and another with a heart. There is a building in the background.

The highest-ranked children’s hospital in California and eighth in the United States, according to U.S. News & World Report, has been instrumental in the success of National Medical Fellowships’ (NMF) focus on primary care.  

It is no secret the respective missions of NMF and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) intersect on multiple levels, including the delivery of culturally competent care via a more diverse health care workforce to better meet the needs of underserved communities.  

What may not be widely known is how Paul Viviano, president and CEO of CHLA, ensured the continuation of NMF’s Primary Care Leadership Program (PCLP) by voicing his willingness to match AltaMed Health Services’ financial contributions.  

“I strongly believe and lead CHLA with the mindset that high-quality health care is a fundamental right everyone deserves and should have access to,” Viviano said. 

Founded in 1901, CHLA — a safety net hospital for Southern California — operates the third-largest pediatric residency training program in the country and is a top-10 pediatric research institution funded by the National Institutes of Health. 

“We invest millions of dollars each year into research and training and are still able to treat patients regardless of financial situations or personal circumstances.”

Paul viviano, president and CEO,
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Viviano, who joined CHLA in 2015, is a California native who graduated from the University of California-Santa Barbara and earned his master’s in public health from UCLA. He first began his more than three-decade-long career as an analyst helping to restructure the Public Health Department of Orange County, CA.  

Viviano has since held numerous CEO and other executive positions with UC San Diego Health System, Alliance HealthCare Services, University of Southern California Hospitals, and the St. Joseph Health System. 

He has additionally chaired or belonged to the Board of California Children’s Hospital Association, the national Children’s Hospital Association, and Solutions for Patient Safety, a national consortium setting clinical standards for U.S. children’s hospitals. 

Viviano — an emeritus board member of NMF — also earned NMF’s L.A. Champions of Health Leadership Award in 2016 and NMF’s Visionary Award in 2022 for his transformational leadership in advancing health equity and diversifying health care.  

“Partnering with NMF inspired CHLA to invest more in leadership development for both our providers and health care leaders.”

Paul viviano, president and CEO,
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

More than 1,200 currently active practicing pediatricians in L.A. County are graduates of CHLA’s residency program.  

“It speaks volumes that they’ve chosen to stay in this community — where more than half of the 2.5 million children living within an hour of this hospital are living in families with incomes near the poverty level — to improve access to care,” Viviano said.  

In the last two years, CHLA treated children from all 50 states and from 90 different countries.  

And in 2023, more than 76% of CHLA’s patients were Medi-Cal beneficiaries. 

“With the second-highest case mix index of any children’s hospital in the country, when your child is facing a complex medical issue, this is where you want to be, and it doesn’t matter if you have $10 or even a green card — we are going to help take care of your precious child until they’re 18,” Viviano said.  

More than 400 funded scientists at CHLA’s Saban Research Institute also conduct hundreds of cutting-edge clinical trials.  

“Current clinical trials have more than 4,000 enrolled participants. This is life-saving work to provide children with the leading treatments and medications available.”  

Paul viviano, president and CEO,
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Additionally, CHLA sets up remote clinics and partners with other organizations to provide community outreach and health interventions.  

“Being in schools, in health fairs, and partners with organizations such as AltaMed is how we learn about our populations’ specific needs, where the underserved need assistance most, and how we can expand our reach to most effectively care for everyone,” Viviano said.  

CHLA’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion works closely with the clinical faculty to best address the health care disparities in the communities they serve.  

“We have insight into the community’s health disparities and are constantly working on plans and initiatives to address them,” Viviano said. “That includes sustaining a more diversified and effective workforce who can better understand our patients’ circumstances in ways that result in better health outcomes.”   

However, Viviano expressed that the ability to meet the needs of CHLA’s patient populations has become increasingly challenging.  

“Not only are there still unmet needs, but also the needs continue to grow. We need to continue expanding capacities, but for the last two years, 10% of all pediatric residency slots in this country went unfilled.”  

Paul viviano, president and CEO,
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Viviano said he is grateful for CHLA’s partnership with NMF and the help it provides in addressing this deficit. Upon graduation from their academic programs, 84% of PCLP scholars enter primary care residencies or professional practices.  

“The overlap of our missions is where the work can be done together, and it is a privilege to work with people as committed to meeting the health care needs of underserved communities as we are,” Viviano said.  

Past PCLP Scholars Reflect on the Program’s Impact

Vicky Lu, 2023 NMF PCLP Scholar 
Vicky Lu, a second-year student at Oakland University’s William Beaumont School of Medicine, said she sometimes wonders about the difference she can make as a single physician.  

“But that kind of thinking leads to burnout and overwhelm, so I actively try to connect with those who are just as passionate about community-based health as me,” she noted.  

Lu is from the San Gabriel Valley, where her Vietnamese family owns a non-traditional Eastern medicine herbal shop.  

“I’m hoping to bridge the gaps between Eastern and Western medicine by not only increasing access to care but also fully incorporating cultural humility into my practice,” she said.  

Lu said that at PCLP — where she spearheaded initiatives to improve pediatric oral health care — Dr. Ron Birnbaum, a dermatologist who volunteered at the family medicine clinic, inspired her to keep going: “He said if there is a need, advocate and create programs to address it.”  

Nkechi Onyewuenyi, 2023 NMF PCLP Scholar 

NMF’s PCLP welcomes a variety of health professionals, including students looking to become physician assistants — like Nkechi Onyewuenyi, a student in University of Southern California’s primary care physician assistant class of 2025.  

“As medical providers specializing in primary care, we act as voices of advocacy, increasing the quality of care by addressing firsthand issues of access, resources, and policy in the communities we come from and represent,” Onyewuenyi said.  

With a Bachelor of Science in public health, a background as a community health worker, and an upbringing in both Nigeria and the United States, Onyewuenyi offers a unique perspective on the challenges around accessing quality health care worldwide.  

Onyewuenyi joined NMF’s PCLP — where she provided innovative ways to improve the continuity of prenatal care among Medi-Cal patients — to address one of these challenges.  

“Networking with health care professionals from diverse backgrounds helped solidify what opportunities were possible for me in my career,” she said.  

“PCLP provided mentors, resources, and access to heads of clinics and organizations we otherwise would not have had to challenge us to think bigger on how we might apply ourselves in the future.”